That Time David Cronenberg Remade ‘The Fly’ as an Opera (Yes, Really) / by David Hwang

Sing me a tune, Brundlefly!

  • The Fly represents the quintessential Cronenberg film, showcasing his thematic resonance and meticulous craft.

  • The 2008 Fly opera blends elements from previous adaptations, offering a gruesome and vile stage rendition.

  • The opera, a joint effort by Howard Shore, David Henry Hwang, and David Cronenberg, portrays Seth Brundle's transformation in a 1950s setting.

Just when we all thought that everyone's favorite barf bag maestro had shown all of his cards, he got back up and reinvented himself again. The year was 2008, a mere 22 years after Cronenberg's critically acclaimed remake of The Fly was released. Howard Shore, the composer behind the 1986 remake, and David Henry Hwang, a critically acclaimed play writer and screenwriter, took the tragedy of Seth Brundle on themselves, teleported its particles into outer space, and brought it back down as an opera. Just like he did 22 years before, Shore composed the music for this new version, with different compositions than before. Hwang, on the other hand, wrote the libretto.

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